UNRIC Library Newsletter - January 2011

UN in General

2011: International Year of Forests http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

2011: International Year of Chemistry http://www.chemistry2011.org/
The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) is a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind. Under the unifying theme “Chemistry—our life, our future,” IYC 2011 will offer a range of interactive, entertaining, and educational activities for all ages. The Year of Chemistry is intended to reach across the globe, with opportunities for public participation at the local, regional, and national level.

2011-2012: Year of the Bat (UNEP/CMS)http://www.yearofthebat.org/
The UNEP Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and The Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS) have joined together to celebrate the Year of the Bat.

UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Womenhttp://www.unwomen.org/
UN Women is the new UN organization dedicated to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women’s establishment, applauded around the globe, offers a historic opportunity to unleash progress for women and for societies.

Peace and Security

Monitoring Peace Consolidation:
United Nations Practitioners’ Guide to Benchmarkinghttp://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/pdf/Monitoring_Peace_Consolidation.pdf
This
recently released handbook, aims to assist UN field practitioners in measuring
progress towards peace consolidation. Produced under the direction of a
Steering Committee chaired by Peacebuilding Support Office with funding
provided by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the handbook identifies
principles and methodologies that can be used in establishing benchmarking
systems adapted to their respective contexts.

Southern Sudan Referendum Coverage (UNMIS)http://unmis.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4540
From 9
to 15 January 2011, registered voters in Sudan
and eight out-of-country voting (OCV) and registration countries had the
opportunity to cast their ballots in a referendum in favour of unity or
secession from Sudan.

UNOG Library Resource Guide:
Disarmamenthttp://www.netvibes.com/unoglibrary-disarmament
The
resource guide on disarmament in general is designed to save you time by
creating a central access gateway to relevant resources. Click on the tabs
above to find links to treaties in full text and links to UN documents and
organs, negotiations forums, confidence building measures, verification
institutions, and export control regimes. This guide also highlights the
collections of the UNOG Library on the topic of disarmament - both print and
online resources (books and articles, journals, and databases).

Economic & Social Development

Accountability Commission for
health of women and children (WHO)
http://www.who.int/topics/millennium_development_goals/accountability_commission/en/
A
Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health
will propose a framework for global reporting, oversight and accountability on
women's and children’s health. It will create a system to track whether
donations for women's and children's health are made on time, resources are
spent wisely and transparently, and whether the desired results are achieved.

Strengthening Migration
Governance: Implementation of OSCE Commitments related to migration by OSCE participating
States (ILO / OSCE)http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/migrant/download/osce_ilo_2010.pdf
The
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) and the International Labour Office (ILO) have launched a new study on
“Strengthening Migration Governance” for International Migrants Day on 18
December 2010. Based on the stated commitments of the 56 participating OSCE
countries, the report examines what has been done to establish and strengthen
governance of migration across the region, what remains to be done and ways of
strengthening migration governance through international cooperation.

Humanitarian Affairs

Report of the UN on Haiti 2010:
Situation, Challenges and OutlookEnglish & French: http://www.onu-haiti.org
The
report of the United Nations in Haiti 2010 summarizes the efforts undertaken by
the United Nations system and its partners, in support to the Haitian people
and their government, to answer the multiple humanitarian crises, to accompany
the electoral calendar and to advance on the road to recovery.

International Law

Security Council sets up new body
to finish work of UN war crimes tribunalsEnglish, French & Spanish: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=S/RES/1966(2010)
On
22 December the Security Council set up a new body to finish the remaining
tasks of the United Nations war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, while calling on the courts
to conclude their work by the end of 2014. By a vote of 14 in favour, with one
abstention (Russia),
the Council established the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal
Tribunals with two branches. The Mechanism’s branch for the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will begin functioning on 1 July 2012,
while the branch for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) will commence on 1 July 2013. To ensure a smooth transition
to the Mechanism, the Council requested both tribunals to take “all possible
measures” to expeditiously complete all their remaining work no later than 31
December 2014.

European Agreement concerning the
International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) including
the Annexed Regulations, applicable as from 1 January 2011: Volume I.
United Nations. New York
and Geneva. 2010. xxi, 524 p. (ECE/TRANS/220 (Vol.I))
Sales No. E.10.VIII.2. ISBN
978-92-1-139138-1.

European Agreement concerning the
International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN) including
the Annexed Regulations, applicable as from 1 January 2011: Volume II.
United Nations. New York
and Geneva. 2010. iv, 447 p. (ECE/TRANS/220 (Vol.II))
Sales No. E.10.VIII.2.
ISBN 978-92-1-139138-1.

Social Media

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